Bathroom Remodel Archives - Page 18 of 30

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Tips to Preparing for a Remodel

Remodeling your kitchen or bath is exciting. But it’s also disruptive and frustrating. Experienced kitchen and bath contractors, Inspired Remodels, wants every remodel to be as stress-free as possible. When you follow these tips, your kitchen or bath remodel will be much easier.

Living During a Kitchen Remodel

Plan on living without a kitchen for at least a month. If this is a major remodel, it may be longer. You can’t eat out three meals a day for over a month, so use this plan:

Set up a temporary kitchen

Turn a spare bedroom, living area, or even the garage into a temporary kitchen. Move the fridge in there along with a coffee pot, small microwave, and a toaster oven. If you don’t have room for your full size refrigerator, invest in one of the small dorm-sized fridge/freezer combo. You don’t need much freezer space, but you will want a few ice cubes here and there and may want to store a small container of ice cream. After all, it is stressful to have your kitchen under construction. You may want to self-medicate with a cocktail or some ice cream. If you normally eat in the kitchen, set up a temporary eating area as well.

Buy disposables

Go ahead and buy disposable napkins, plates, forks, spoons, and knives. There are even biodegradable options available these days. Even if you don’t like to eat with disposables, you will like washing dishes in your bathroom sink even less.

Plan for disruption

It’s going to get messy. An experienced kitchen and bath contractor knows how to contain the dust and debris. Talk to them about this plan before demolition begins. Think how the disruption will affect your pets. You may want to start feeding them in an alternative location before work begins.

Surviving a Bathroom Remodel

A bathroom remodel isn’t as disruptive, as you generally have more than one bathroom in the house. You only have one kitchen.

Even so, stock up on santizing gel and dry shampoo. When you’re sharing a sink and shower, you’ll find that the sanitizing gel and/or baby wipes are perfect for a quick clean up. Dry shampoo reduces the number of time you may need to stand in line to use the shower. As an alternative, you can always wash your hair in the kitchen sink.

Hang a mirror in an area with good lighting. This will come in handy when the working bathroom is occupied and you need to put on makeup or fix your hair.

If the cat’s litter box was in the bathroom undergoing remodel, you’ll want to make sure you move that a few days before the renovation so kitty gets used to the new spot. Having workers in the house is usually stressful for pets. Moving the litter box is also stressful. Moving the box in advance reduces the chances of accidents.

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Recommend

No matter what type of project you do, it won’t hurt to get away for a few days. Living with a kitchen or bathroom remodel may set your teeth on edge if you are compulsively neat and orderly. Even the untidiest among us may get tired of the disruption. Plan a small vacation to get you out of the house and away from the chaos for a few days.

Speaking of days, plan for disruptions. Every project, no matter how carefully planned, usually has its bumps in the road. If you are prepared for things to go wrong and for the budget to go over 10% to 20% it will be less stressful when it happens.

When you are ready for a remodel or update, call the kitchen and bath contractors that see your home as more than a job site. Inspired Remodels understands it is an honor to be invited into your home. You’ll get one point of contact for the entire project and communication will always be open and honest. Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today.

General Contractors Guide to Tile

It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of updating one room or the whole house. Chances are you are thinking about tile. With so many types of tile on the market, picking the right tile is tough. Inspired Remodels takes the headache out of picking the right tile. Take our advice as general contractors, decide on the tile material first and then the design of the tile. It makes the job of selecting tile much easier. Here’s a general contractors guide to the different types of tile.

Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile has been popular for hundreds of years. It is a clay-based product. You’ll find ceramic tiles in the bathroom and kitchen. They are on walls, floors, backsplashes and showers.

Ceramic tile is an easy care material. Like other hard surface materials, you can wipe up spills easily, vacuum and wet mop tile. Glazed tile doesn’t normally stain and it doesn’t absorb water. However, like with all tiles, you’ll want to seal the grout to protect staining, but ceramic tile itself does not need sealing. Because it is impervious to water, it’s perfect for bathrooms.

Ceramic tiles are made in squares, hexagons, circles and more. It is a relatively inexpensive tile. It is also not the hardest clay tile. So, it’s not the best choice for high traffic areas.

Porcelain Tile

There is a difference between ceramic and porcelain tile. Yes, both are clay-based products. But, there is a difference in the clay based used to make the tile. With porcelain, the clay is highly refined and much more purified than the clay used to make ceramic tile. In addition, porcelain tile is fired at a higher temperature. The result is a tile that is more durable and stronger than ceramic tile.

Don’t use the terms ceramic tile and porcelain tile interchangeably. They aren’t the same. Porcelain is more expensive than ceramic because it is more durable. Like ceramic tiles, it is glazed and will not absorb water. It’s equally at home in the bathroom as in the kitchen, hallways, mudrooms or other frequently trafficked areas.

If you pick ceramic or porcelain tile, when choosing the actual tile color or design, make sure it is a through-tile. This means the color is not only applied to the top of the tile but permeates through. This is a very important feature. Surface colored tile shows every chip and ding.

Satillo or Terracotta Tile

When you think satillo or terracotta tile, you usually think of patios and entryways. But it can be used indoors as well. This clay-based tile is not glazed and needs to be resealed every few years whether installed inside or outside.

It’s a warm looking and feeling tile. Satillo tile doesn’t get as cold underfoot at ceramic or porcelain. But, because it absorbs water, you don’t want to use it in the shower. But it’s perfect for sunrooms and transitional spaces.

Stone Tile

Limestone, marble and slate are all popular tiles for use throughout the house. Each type of stone has its challenges when it comes to installation. Installing stone tiles isn’t a DIY undertaking. This is one place where the work is best left in the hands of general contractors.

That being said, stone tiles are popular on bathroom floors, in showers, on walls and backsplashes. Depending on the stone you pick, it may need sealing periodically. Granite floors can be slippery and limestone is easily damaged by the wrong pH cleaner.

Talk to your general contractor about how you will use a space and who will use a space to determine if the stone you have in mind is a good match for your application.

Stone tiles can look warm (think limestone or slate) or cool (think granite or marble). When it comes to cost, stone will be more expensive than ceramic or porcelain. But with the proper care, it will last much longer.

Glass and Metal

These two materials get an honorable mention for their decorative applications. They are not suitable for floors, but make lovely accent tiles on walls, fireplaces, and backsplashes. Glass and metal may be mixed with other materials in a mosaic design. Both materials are easily scratched, so take care when cleaning.

General Contractors Make the Difference

When it comes to new tiles for the floors or walls, the general contractor you pick does make a difference. General contractors that have your best interest in mind will let you know if a material you pick isn’t the best material for the application. Respect their expertise and listen closely to their recommendations. When it comes to making dreams a reality, turn to Inspired Remodels. They will guide you through the design process and make sure the remodel is not only beautiful but functional.

Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today to talk about your next remodel or renovation. And if you decide to move instead of remodel, we can help with that too. Inspired Realty is our complete real estate brokerage firm.

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Kitchen and Bath Contractors Connect Spaces With Style

By Inspired Remodels / Bathroom Remodel, Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off

One of the most difficult tasks in a home remodel is making the space flow from one room to another. Just because you want the bathroom to be painted one color doesn’t mean you want the entire home in the same shade. Savvy kitchen and bath contractors know how to unite spaces. Using complementary shades and themes, you can tie retro and modern together and end up with a perfectly traditional look. Here’s how Inspired Remodels handled it.

Traditional Kitchen with Whimsy

Start with the trendy but eternal look of Shaker cabinets. The clean lines of Shaker cabinetry are a classic. Originally designed by Shaker craftsman to be simple, durable, and most of all functional. They speak to a post-modern sensibility where less is more. Of course their simple and unassuming lines lend themselves to a wide variety of installations. In this installation, the brushed nickel hardware adds a futuristic look.

Next, add stainless appliances. Like Shaker cabinets, the taste for stainless hasn’t been satiated in the kitchen yet. They give an industrial, modern look that is in perfect contrast to the timelessness of the cabinetry. Gray-veined countertops pull it all together.

Lastly, inject a bit of whimsy into the design with the spectacular backsplash. The cooktop, dual ovens and industrial hood may scream business, but the tile on the backsplash is all about having fun and being creative in the kitchen. The result is a modern but traditional look that can be easily carried to other rooms

Carry it to the Guest Bath

The problem with a guest bath this nice is your guests may never leave. Friends and family will find reasons to crash at your place for the night just so they can enjoy this space.

Connecting this room with the style of the kitchen isn’t a challenge when you’ve got kitchen and bath contractors with design skills. Start with the flooring. The color ties with the theme established by the kitchen.

Next, the cabinetry emulates the simplistic design of the Shaker door panel, but adds a rustic touch. This is easily achieved by using different hardware and a different finish on the cabinet. They look the same, but completely different at the same time. Neat trick, huh?

Next, the stone on the wall matches the rustic tone set by the cabinetry, but the clean and simple lines of the floating mirror match the industrial vibe of the appliances in the kitchen. A framed mirror would not give the same look.

The need for whimsy is amply supplied by the wall lighting next to the mirror. While the glass of the mirror is all business, the glass facets on the wall lights can’t be anything else but fun. Where did you see that before? That’s right, the use of one whimsical element in the kitchen and one whimsical element in this bath are the clear signs these kitchen and bath contractors know their trade.

Mastering the Master Bath

The final challenge is pulling it all together in the master bath. It all starts with the barn doors. Like Shaker cabinets, barn doors have been around for ages. It’s only lately that they’ve left the confines of the barn and wandered into the house. In the right place, they look spectacular. This bathroom is the right place.

The simple lines of the door and the hardware are aligned closely with those used in the guest bath. The tile coordinates with the tile in the kitchen and other bath. By keeping the same color palette on the floor, there are more opportunities for individualizing the room while still keeping it stylistically connected to the rest of the house.

The soaking tub continues with the lines found in the kitchen. Clean and simple. That tub is luxury and all business. Of course with something that serious, you need a little whimsy. That’s provided by the plumbing fixtures.

Next, the color on the walls is reminiscent of the veins found on the countertop in the kitchen. Lastly, the woodlook tile in the shower contrasts nicely with the real wood of the barn doors.

Kitchen and Bath Contractors Pull It All Together

Whether you are doing a single room or the whole house, you need kitchen and bath contractors that can pull it all together to pull off a cohesive look. You need the design/build team at Inspired Remodels. Call or contact online to discuss your next project. Traditional, retro and whimsy. If you can dream it they can make it come to life.

Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us online today.